QPP Advancing Care Information

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) organization has recently made a terminology change to the Advancing Care Information (ACI) category of the Quality Payment Program (QPP). This category, which includes the measures that must be completed in your EHR software, has now been rebranded as the Promoting Interoperability category. This change falls in line with the CMS initiative to bring about fast, safe, and efficient data-sharing between healthcare providers through compliance programs, such as QPP, and EHR software certification standards.

In past years, CMS has increasingly steered the healthcare and health IT industries toward more effective interoperability functions through a variety of methods. Compliance programs geared specifically toward the use of EHR systems have largely focused on Coordination of Care, Health Information Exchange, and Public Health reporting measures, which are most applicable to patients referred to other providers across different healthcare specialties. Additionally, these measures contribute to the goals of empowering providers to focus on the quality of care and understanding trends impacting healthcare quality and coordination across different specialties.

CMS has also released a proposal to mandate that all Medicare providers obtain access to an interoperable messaging system for information sharing by December 31st, 2018. This practice, which is referred to as Direct Messaging, is at the forefront of the preliminary requirements introduced by CMS to advance interoperability standards. However, some providers still struggle to locate EHR systems that have implemented this functionality, as it entails meeting strict certification standards. ChiroTouch achieved 2015 ONC Health IT Certification in December 2017 with Version 7.0 and continues to provide the tools that chiropractors need to comply with these advanced requirements.

While this terminology update was officially announced and took effect on Wednesday, April 25th, 2018, this modification will undergo a slow rollout to give participants time to absorb the new information. For instance, the CMS QPP website still reflects the previous category title, Advancing Care Information. This change has no impact on program requirements—all measures have remained the same under the new title.